Performance Optimisation – Tipped To Be The Most Potent Weapon In A Wind Farm's Arsenal

Oct. 24, 2008 - PRLog -- And the increasing reliance on renewable energy, exemplified by
the targets set for 2020, clearly indicate that the story has just
begun for wind energy.
By 2020 at least 20% of energy used in the EU and 15% in the
UK alone will come from renewables. Already, there has been a
big push by the government bodies and companies across the
world to support this; supported by a significant drive from
those involved in wind energy to meet and exceed these
targets.
This commitment, combined with an increasing number of
similar targets set by the respective governments around the
globe assures the continued growth of the wind energy sector.
The growing demand for green electricity in the European
market is therefore fueling increased competition among the
existing players in the wind energy industry.
In a market, where investment is set to reach £30billion in the next decade, significant progress is being
made in improving the technology of turbine design, site location and grid connection, to assist wind farms
in improving their energy yields.
At the same time, wind farms must also take on the responsibility of looking at the way their own site
operates to boost their efficiency and enhance the amount of electricity they individually feed into the
electricity network.
Operating effectively in the new age of renewable power generation
To operate effectively in the new age of renewable power generation, there are a number of key areas
that wind farm operators need to focus on:
􀁺 The use of cutting edge software packages to optimise energy output
􀁺 Intelligent hardware choices that can increase farm operational efficiency
􀁺 Improved accuracy of wind speed forecasting through sophisticated analysis of meteorological data
􀁺 The specifics of site location strategy – giving increased development opportunities
By addressing these critical issues now and combining them with business planning, staff training and
technological know-how, operators can vastly increase the chances of their Wind Farm's ongoing success
as a major renewable power provider.
The Essential Wind Energy Win: Performance Optimisation
Until now, the sole solution when it comes to improving performance involved upgrading to greater
capacity turbines.
Yet with rising turbine costs and increased competition to supply green electricity to the grid, operators
have no choice but to improve upon the existing output. Therefore, a competitive wind farm business
needs better management and operation of existing turbines, coupled with new software and technology,
to ensure it has the vital development strategies to succeed in the modern era of renewable generation.
Andrew Garrad from leading Wind Energy Consultants Garrad Hassan states that most wind farm
operators can squeeze another 1% of output from their wind farm sites right now by merely making a few
minor changes. This has the potential to save wind farm operators thousands of pounds and boost the
electricity they supply to the grid.
The industry is also witnessing significant initiatives in the context of improving upon wind turbines to
generate electricity more cheaply.
For example, Garrad Hassan (GH) and nine other industry and academic leaders have collaborated to put
together a successful proposal for EU support for the new RELIAWIND project, with the aim of measuring
and understanding historical reliability to create a new generation of more intelligent and reliable wind
turbines expected to generate electricity more cheaply. The aim of this project is to monitor component
reliability, to propose new designs which are more reliable and cheaper to maintain and operate, thereby
aiming to increase availability to 99%.
For the project, the research comprises three key phases:
1. The determination of a statistical basis for prioritising improvements
in component reliability, repair and maintenance strategies.
2. The evaluation of all plausible design failures and their consequences
using techniques such as FMEA and FTA.
3. The proposal of new, more robust designs and intelligent systems
for monitoring component health and scheduling preventative
maintenance.
In order to achieve optimal results for performance of any wind farm
site, it is imperative for the industry to assess how amendments in
hardware (such as unnecessary power losses from turbine
performance) and software and other factors such as meteorological
data, translating SCADA data into an effective business strategy and
extracting the maximum information from routine SCADA data can
impact the final result or target. At the same time, it is equally
important for the industry to gauge several other components of
working on a successful project be it the role of wind mapping for power predictions and scheduling or
planning for the construction phase or working on an operational strategy that takes into account site
specific details among the others.
All this and lot more will be discussed and analysed, paving the way for highly relevant exchange of
different viewpoints and an ideal learning platform during the Wind Energy Performance Optimisation
Summit (to be held on 11th - 12th February 2009 in Hamburg, Germany).
For more information, click here: http://www.windenergyupdate.com/performance09
Or contact Charlotte Richards by email: charlotte@windenergyupdate.com